|
HOUSTON AND NEW ORLEANS
CONSUMERS STILL SHOW HEAVY CELL PHONE USAGE MONTHS
AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA, ACCORDING TO TELEPHIA
Southeastern Mobile
Consumers Talk the Most on Their Cell Phones
SAN FRANCISCO — June 12, 2006
Telephia, the leading provider of performance
measurement information to the mobile industry,
reports that monthly mobile usage in the Houston
and New Orleans metropolitan areas grew by more
than 250 minutes between Q1 2005 and Q1 2006.
Data from Telephia’s Customer Value Metrics
research panel shows that average monthly voice
minutes used in the Houston area jumped 31 percent
to 1106 minutes during the first quarter of 2006,
as compared to 847 minutes a year prior (see Table
1).
Mobile consumers in New Orleans used an average
of 1072 voice minutes, an increase of nearly five
more hours of talk time as compared to Q1 2005.
Houston and New Orleans were some of the most
affected areas during the 2005 hurricane season
and mobile usage growth year-over-year is at least
five times more than the nationwide growth of
six percent. Mobile consumers in Daytona Beach,
Florida used an average of 900 voice minutes per
month, claiming the third spot, while Toledo,
Ohio followed with an average of 894 minutes.
The Atlanta, Georgia area rounded out the top
five with 880 voice minutes used. The ranking
of U.S. metropolitan areas by monthly mobile phone
usage shows a clear regional pattern with users
in Southeastern markets using their phone well
above the national average of 718 minutes per
month in Q1 2006.
“Mobile communications became a lifeline
for many of the residents who were forced to evacuate
their homes and it clearly played a critical role
in the coordination of family and friends immediately
following Hurricane Katrina,” said Tamara
Gaffney, Product Director, Telephia. “Interestingly,
this heightened mobile usage continued long after
landline telephone communications services were
restored. This may reflect the ongoing disruption
that many residents of these cities still face,
but also suggests a more lasting change in consumer
usage patterns born out of the hurricane experience.” |
